


The Talk

by PhoenixFalling



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Green Arrow and the Canaries (TV)
Genre: Dinah and Laurel have a chat about their relationship, F/F, a friendly night out turns to something elelse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:21:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23774503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixFalling/pseuds/PhoenixFalling
Summary: Prompt:Laurel and Dinah have been living together platonically and while out at a restaurant a waiter comments on what a great couple they are, which leads them to question their entire dynamic.Thanks to the lovely Doll (@dollettah on Twitter) for the request! I love this pairing.
Relationships: Dinah Drake/Earth-2 Laurel Lance
Comments: 3
Kudos: 71





	The Talk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Petrichor (Lieu)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lieu/gifts).



> My first Dinahsiren fic! I'm hoping Green Arrow and the Canaries get picked up soon.

A friendly waitress led the pair of women to a corner booth, far apart from  
the rest of the restaurant. Laurel preferred it this way, staying away from the loud chaos of the packed restaurant, although she stuck to this preference regardless of where they went together. 

Dinah didn’t mind, she found it sort of charming that Laurel liked her privacy. Perhaps it had something to do with her job as the District Attorney and she was a magnet for unwanted attention, both good and bad. Though they did have to constantly keep moving locations for their meetups, however this diner had proved safe for the past few weeks. 

Dinah and Laurel settled in in the comfortable booth, across from each other as usual. As soon as they were comfortable, the waitress spoke. “Hello, my name is Mary. I hope you weren’t waiting too long, I can go ahead and get your beverages.”

“The wait was no-” Dinah started before Laurel cut her off.

“Rum,” she replied without hesitation. Dinah shot her a glance, knowing how one rum can quickly escalate to an inebriated Laurel. Drunk Laurel was a lot of fun, but this was not the time or place for her to have that much fun. 

“And I guess a class of water,” she grumbled under her breath. She crossed her arms in a faux pout.

“I’ll just take a plain beer and another water, thank you,” Dinah glanced down at the menu, having a craving for some ribs. The waitress nodded and slid her notepad into her apron, walking away to get their refreshments.

“Why can’t you let me have a little fun?” Laurel rested her elbows on the table, frowning deeply. “You’re a hypocrite.”

“Hey now, I can control myself with one little beer, but one rum with you escalates very quickly. Plus, the last time you got drunk you trashed Thea’s club,” she pointed out, raising an eyebrow as Laurel stuck out a tongue.”You’re such a child.”

“Being the DA is exhausting-”

“And being the police captain isn’t? We both live in Star City, you know that right?” She rolled her eyes at Laurel’s pathetic excuses. “It’s like the vigilante captain of the world.”

Laurel tore off a piece of the paper napkin, rolled it up into a small ball and chucked it at her. She batted it away, sighing at Laurel’s childish behavior. What was in her tonight? She wasn’t usually so… relaxed. 

“What’s with you tonight?” She inquired, wondering if maybe Laurel had found a boyfriend or potentially a breakthrough within a case. 

“Oh, nothing,” Laurel fiddled with her silverware as a sly smile formed, “I just got word that Silas Pennworth will be put away for life. We’ve got undeniable evidence, thanks to you. It’ll be announced publicly at 7.”

“Silas? You thought it was a good idea to celebrate in public? One of vertigo’s top dealers? You’re asking for a fight,” Dinah leaned back against the booth, rubbing her forehead. Sure, the two women could hold their own ground but she did enjoy some time as a civilian, not fighting the weekly bad guy. She had her hands full as a police captain as it is and her nightly activities as the Black Canary- she just wasn’t in the mood for another nightly brawl.

“Oh come on, we’ll be fine. Relax,” she stretched her hand across the table, “Dinner is on me, I owe it to your incredible work on the case. We wouldn’t have been able to put him away if it wasn’t for you. A lot of good cops would have stepped back from his threats, but not you. Silas has been dodging persecution for months, he’s hurt so many people with that damn drug.” 

Her hand seemed to have a mind of its own as she reached out and took Laurel’s hand, “You’re ridiculous, you know that right? Besides, it’s part of my job.” Dinah fought the urge to look at their hands as she felt Laurel grip her gently. “Besides, paying means you can drink as much as you want. We don’t want another Blackout Tuesday incident, do we?”

“You’re such a buzzkill,” Laurel’s touch lingered, as if she had forgotten where her hand was. 

“I’m looking out for you, you can’t risk getting bad press as the DA,” Dinah reminded gently, shaking her head at her reckless friend. “Someone has to keep you out of trouble.” 

“And you think you can handle me?” She challenged Dinah with a cocky smile. 

“Well aren’t you two just the cutest couple!” Mary chirped, setting down their drinks. She smiled broadly, completely clueless that they were just friends. 

Dinah remembered where her hand was and abruptly yanked it free, almost knocking over her beer. “Ha! We’re not, uh… together. I mean, we are close friends but nothing like that,” she avoided Laurel’s curious stare by looking at the napkin across her lap. Her cheeks burned, hinting at a rosy blush brightening her face. She shrank back into the couch, praying for the low lighting to hide her. 

“Oh! I am so sorry!” Mary placed a couple straws on the table, glancing from Laurel to Dinah, “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you two would just be adorable together.”

“I’m flattered,” Laurel said with a polite smile, “But I think I’m too rough around the edges for Miss Drake.”

“Really Lance? You’re nothing compared to my exes, remember Vincent?” Laurel was perfectly aware how she hated when she called Dinah by her last name, it always got a rise out of her. 

Dinah had forgotten that the waitress was still there with an annoying grin on her face, waiting to take their order. Awkwardly, Dinah mumbled her order of ribs while Laurel ordered a simple chicken salad.  
Mary left them in a stale silence, promising their food would be out soon. 

Dinah wasn’t sure how to pick up conversation, but it appeared Laurel had her own agenda. 

“You were quick to say we weren’t a couple,” Laurel sounded like she was accusing Dinah of something. What that something was, she wasn’t sure. 

She couldn’t deny that there was some truth to Mary’s words, Laurel was her best friend. She had gone through so much to redeem herself, the harder she pushed Dinah away, the more she was drawn to Laurel. There wasn’t anyone Dinah knew quiet like her, maybe because Laurel was out of this word, literally. She was all too smart for her own good and couldn’t hold her tongue even if there was a gun to her head. 

“Last time I checked, we weren’t,” she took a long swig of beer, fighting off the temptation to walk away from the conversation. Talks like this never ended well. Judging by Laurel’s unsure expression, she was starting to expect a ‘I like you as just a friend’ conversation.  
The question is, is that how Dinah felt? Did she want more than friendship with Laurel? Was there even potential there for a relationship?

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” 

Dinah looked up at Laurel’s harsh tone, unsurprised to see that half of the rum was gone. “Where did that come from?”

“Just think about it for a moment. Can you honestly tell me after everything we’ve gone through together, everything we’ve survived that you don’t feel anything? All the chances you gave me when I didn’t deserve them, you don’t fight that hard for someone that’s just a friend,” Laurel said cautiously, as if she was trying to convince herself of something. 

“Felicity was hell of a lot more supportive than I was-” Dinah started before Laurel cut her off.

“But you’re here now. You aren’t just waiting for me to stumble back into my ways but to fight alongside me. Not just as a captain or canary, but a friend. And I’ve never had a lot of friends before, not ones that mattered anyways,” she steadily finished off the rest of her rum. Their eyes locked, Dinah couldn’t look away no matter how much she wanted too. There wasn’t a single doubt in her confident gaze, unwavering and determined. The Laurel that against all odds, had grown on her. 

“Our particular lifestyle doesn’t really leave room for romance,” Dinah said truthfully. “In my experience, you either get killed or live to see yourself become a villain.” She instantly regretted her words as hurt flashed across Laurel’s face. 

“I didn’t mean it like that, where we’re at… it isn’t safe,” she finished, hoping it was enough to give Dinah a moment to think for herself. Of course she cared about laurel, that wasn’t what she was asking. Did Dinah want to take this precarious leap? It was dangerous not just as the DA and police captain, but as vigilantes. “Emotions don’t mix with back alley street fighting,” she sighed under her breath.  
Laurel leaned forward against the table, “I’m hearing excuses after excuses. We know multiple people in the same line of work that found happiness against odds.”

“Wait, so you actually want to be more than friends?” Dinah wanted to make sure she wasn’t hearing things. Maybe it was wishful thinking, was now really the best time for them to take the next step? Would there ever be a suitable time?

“I mean, it’s not a bad idea,” Laurel pointed out, smiling softly to herself as she lowered her gaze to the untouched water gathering condensation. 

Dinah went quiet, trying to put her thoughts in order. If she went with her impulsive instinct, she would say ‘screw this and let's do this’. But if she listened to the mature side of her brain, Dinah would tell Laurel they need to talk more about this before taking any other steps. But she was also growing impatient and it was growing harder to push aside her feelings for the sake of work. 

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll just drop it then. I get it, you don’t feel the same way. I won’t mention it again,” Laurel mumbled, shifting awkwardly in her seat. 

“Laurel, stop being so negative will you? Us being a couple is something I’ve thought about a lot, trust me. Apparently it’s obvious how well we get along, for people like us,” she gestured to her throat, “It’s not that simple. I can’t just say ‘alright, let’s do this’ and go one as normal because frankly, we spend most of our time together. You slept on my couch three days in a row last week because you were too tired to go home. You live three blocks away, Laurel.” As she spoke, Dinah finally began to realize that they were essentially dating, just without the label. 

“It certainly isn’t because your couch is comfortable,” Laurel muttered loud enough for Dinah to hear. 

“Do you know people whisper when you come in with me to work in the mornings?” Dinah said, recalling the countless rumors about the assertive District Attorney Laurel Lance sleeping with their police captain. “No one believes the excuse that you’re picking up paperwork when you never leave with anything.”

“Say the word and I’ll fire them. Of all things you let get under your skin, Dinah. Rumors? That’s what’s holding you back?” Laurel scoffed, crossing her arms as she steadily grew more irritated. 

“I never said I was bothered by them,” Dinah inhaled deeply, “I can handle some nosy cadets. I mentioned it so that you’re aware that if we do this, it has to be professional. Nothing physical at work-”

“But behind closed doors, you’re all mine,” Laurel’s tone was teasing, but there was a  
light in her eyes that was not even remotely kidding. 

Dinah rolled her eyes, “If you can behave yourself. And when we’re on the streets, our mission always comes first. Nothing can change, if I get hurt pursuing some crook you have to keep up the chase.”

“Why don’t you let me have any fun? When am I supposed to have you all by myself?” Laurel stuck out her bottom lip, looking more like an upset puppy than anything else.

“Now could be a start,” Dinah said sly, sliding into the seat next to Laurel. “As long as  
you promise to keep things between us, for now. At least.” 

Laurel wasn’t listening, eyes focused on her lips. Before she could react, she  
gently pressed her lips against Dinah’s. Both women wanted this, hell, Dinah didn’t know that she even needed it until it was happening.  
Just as she started to return the kiss, Laurel pulled away. 

“Starting now,” she breathed, leaving Dinah wanting more.

“I see what you did there,” Dinah hummed, intertwining their hands underneath the table. 

“Someone’s gotta bring a little fun in your life,” Laurel wiggled an eyebrow suggestively. 

“Shut up,” Dinah groaned, wondering just what she had gotten herself into.


End file.
